


We're Broken and Beaten but We Won't Give Up

by pwoutagonist



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Demigods, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-08
Updated: 2014-10-08
Packaged: 2018-02-20 08:49:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 18,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2422613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pwoutagonist/pseuds/pwoutagonist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jean and Marco have been dating for a very long time, and Jean is starting to believe he's the one for him. But then out of the blue, Marco ended their relationship for no reason other than he doesn't want to hurt Jean. And he doesn't realize how true that statement is until he gets swallowed up by the Earth and is trapped in a dark cave with other people, including his now ex Marco and half friend/half rival Eren Jaeger. And the best part? They all happen to be demigods whom Hades has captured for no reason. Jean doesn't know what to do with this sudden new information and he breaks down; will Eren help and try to pick up the pieces?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. And Then the Earth Swallowed Me Up

While the TV droned on during its news segment, the sound of running water echoed in the kitchen as Mrs. Kirschstein mindlessly washed the breakfast bowls from earlier that morning. Her son, Jean, lounged lazily on the couch, still in his pajamas, while the news anchorwoman talked about the recent storms.

“Scientists are baffled by this uproar of sudden storms that seem to have started in the Mediterranean Sea. Thunderstorms, lightning, hurricanes...it seems to have caused a chain reaction throughout the world. Just last night around 12:15 AM, a thunderstorm hit Miami and recovery seems like a long time away from now. More weather news at noon today.

Flipping the TV off, Jean sighed and flipped the channel to cartoons and relaxed with his phone lying on his chest. “You know, Jean, just because you broke up with that boy does not mean that you can freeload around the house all day. Have you even showered?” His mother chided him after she put the last dish away. This only earned a groan from her son. Jean, knowing he couldn’t argue with his mother, went upstairs to turn the shower water on. He didn’t really feel like taking a shower; it always dampened his mood. But he hadn’t showered in a week and his mom would start to get real mad if he didn’t do what he was told. She was only lenient on him because of his recent break-up.

And it was an honest surprise too; Jean really thought that he and Marco were going to last longer...even forever until marriage and death. But all of a sudden he had this distant look on his face and he said that they couldn’t be together anymore. Jean pleaded with the freckled male but it was like his voice fell on deaf ears. They hadn’t spoken since, and Jean felt more and more lifeless and just utterly empty. Marco was his one and only...how could he live with anyone else? His chest ached at the thought as he stripped out of his pajamas and stepped into the cold shower. The temperature didn’t even bother him. When his fingertips turned slightly blue, he stepped out and dried himself off as he walked to his room only to put on another pair of pajamas; he had no intentions of leaving the house.

He flopped on his bed and looked at his phone; should he even dare to check Facebook now? Would anyone even care that he hadn’t been hanging out with his friends of late? Jean opened the app and scrolled down his newsfeed.

**Sasha Braus is now in a relationship with Connie Springer.**

**Mikasa Ackerman: *thumbs up***

**Reiner Braun: Congrats man! Did ya do the thang yet? ;)**

**Historia Reiss: Congratulations!**

Jean smiled a little and liked the post; those two were close friends and he was happy for them. He scrolled down some more and grimaced at a picture of a shirtless Reiner making duck faces with a red solo cup in his hand.

**Ymir: The next duck-face selfie I see, I’m automatically unfriending you.**

Well, Jean thought, looks like she’s no longer friends with Reiner. Wouldn’t blame her either.

**Eren Jaeger: Hardcore studying with the babes.**

Below his status was a selfie of him with Armin and Mikasa scribbling on their notebooks in the library. He could see the dissatisfied glare of the librarian in the background and snickered as he posted a reply.

**Jean Kirschstein: Wow, didn’t know you got it good with the librarian. She seems totes smitten with you.**

**Eren Jaeger is typing…**

Jean chuckled; the brunette was so easy to tease.

**Eren Jaeger: At least I have actual woman pining over my good looks.**

Low blow, Jaeger.

**Marco Bodt is typing…**

His heart stuttered and he froze in silence, half wanting to look away and half unable to look away.

**Marco Bodt: I don’t know about that “woman” though, Eren. You might have to change her diapers after a date.**

Jean nearly busted out laughing; who knew Marco could make a joke? He didn’t even care what Eren’s dumb retort would be. But then after a while his laughs died down and he was feeling down in the dumps again. How was Marco doing? Was he okay? Did he feel better now that they were apart? Was Marco feeling sad too? Or was he over it already? Jean closed the app and tossed his phone aside as he laid down on his back and decided to take an early nap.

When he awoke, however, everything was a mess. His entire room was shaking; pictures, lamps, and chairs were spewed all over the ground in chaos and the fan above him was creaking. Jean cursed as he jumped off his bed and into the doorway just before his ceiling fan crashed loudly onto his sheets. Before he could react, the next thought that crossed into his mind was his mother.

“Mom!” He called out,racing down the stairs in search for her. He went to the kitchen and saw her hiding in one of the lower cabinets. But she didn’t seem scared despite the fact that their town wasn’t anywhere near a fault line to cause a big enough earthquake such as this. And for some reason, she was smiling. “Mom, are you okay?” It was strange...like...she knew this would happen… “You’re scaring me…” Pots and pans behind him crashed onto the hardwood floor. She reached over to gently cup his face.

“It’s okay, Jeanny boy.” His mom only used that name when she was serious. “Your father told me this would happen eventually.” My father? She never spoke of my father! “Don’t worry about me. I know that you’ll be alright.” She kissed him on the cheek, leaving a big red lipstick mark there as she bid him farewell. “Say hello to your friends for me.” Jean didn’t have time to respond. Her smile was the last thing he saw before a big crack in the ground beneath him swallowed him up and took him deep into the depths of a long, dark well.

 

 


	2. And Then I Became a Demigod

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jean lands next to his skin and discovers he can talk to horses. Yippee.

_“Hey.”_

_“Hey.”_

_Silence echoed on the front porch and Jean felt it to be almost unbearable. His hands were stuffed in his pockets as the porch light illuminated the freckled boy’s face. He seemed to be lost in thought as if carefully picking his words. There was a sudden fear that Jean felt pierce right through his chest; whatever Marco wanted to talk about this late at night with such an expression, it had to be serious. “You...wanted to talk?” Jean cursed at the sudden crack in his voice; he felt so vulnerable like he was expecting the worst._

_Marco nodded. “Yeah...I did.” He seemed to stumble a bit on his words. “I-I mean, I still d-do.” He seemed just as nervous as Jean was. “It’s kind of hard to say this...when we first met, I knew there was something special about you.” Jean felt his heart stop at the other male’s voice. Even though they were only steps away from each other, he felt like they were worlds apart. “But I’ve discovered something about myself...something that I’m ashamed to tell. Something I’m...afraid to tell...and I don’t think I_ could _tell you even if I wanted to.” Now Jean was lost; he didn’t understand where Marco was trying to get at._

_“I know it’s cliche, but I’m dead serious; it’s not you...it’s me. There’s just something I couldn’t bare to share with you...because I love you.”_ Please, don’t say that...not now. _Jean was silent the entire time; he didn’t have the strength to speak. “I love you...I really do...and this is why it hurts so much...because I don’t want to leave your side, but if I do, I’ll bring you into danger.” Marco started to tear up._

_“So.” Jean’s voice was shaky; he wasn’t prepared for this. “We’re done?” It took a while for the freckled male to respond before he nodded slowly and sheepishly; his eyes couldn’t meet Jean’s. “Did you get involved in a gang or something?” Marco looked confused. “Last time I checked, your parents were fine with us dating. Did you get a disease? Is that why you don’t want to be with me?” The freckled male looked defeated but he shook his head; it was something that Jean couldn’t possibly understand. “Then what is it, Marco?!” Jean’s raised voice startled Marco; he wasn’t expecting that. “I thought we were best friends! Lovers! I promised that I would tell you_ everything _and I meant it. There’s nothing I would hide from you!” Marco was sobbing now. “Marco, please…” Jean’s voice was lower now. “I just want to understand...I want to help you...make you realize how much I...I_ need _you…” He too started to break down; this was uncharted territory._

_Unable to stand, Jean collapsed onto the wooden porch, head in his hands and knees pulled close to his chest. His sobs were quiet but his body shook with the emotional pain he was going through. He had thought that him and Marco would be an item that lasted a long time; Marco was his best friend and understood everything about him. Why they were breaking up, he had no idea. Marco was insecure about something, and Jean felt helpless. What kind of friend was he that he couldn’t even help his soulmate? He felt ruined as a person… “Please, Jean, don’t cry. I want you to be happy…” He paused. “...without me. I know there’s someone out there who’s way better than me and can give you what you need.” Tears dripped onto the concrete path as the sound of crickets echoed into the night._

_Jean looked up one last time at his now ex-boyfriend. He was even planning out his proposal, wondering how their wedding would be like, wondering how many kids they would adopt, what their dream home would be like, and how much he’d love to grow old with Marco sipping lemonade without any teeth, but now he had those same images flow into his head only Marco wasn’t there; Jean was alone in an apartment, looking out the window at the sunset with a lemonade in his hands and no one by his side but a wilted rose and a memory of a past lover that never came to be. Jean wanted to fight this; he wanted to keep Marco by his side. But he recognized the look in the freckled male’s eyes and knew that it would be futile. Marco had already prepared himself for this...Jean wanted to scream at whoever was making Marco feel so insecure that he couldn’t even confide in his best friend...he felt betrayed. “I love you Marco. Nothing will ever change that.” He stood up, staring at the ground with his hands still in his pockets; he tried to play cool. “But if you want some space...that’s fine. Just know I’ll always be here for you.”_

_Saying one last ‘goodnight,’ Jean disappeared into his house and ignored his mother’s worried look as he ran up the stairs to his bed. He slammed the door and fell onto his bed. He felt his heart race and his breath coming in quick pants. It was getting harder and harder to breathe as he started crying, digging his nails into his skin to somehow make the pain go away. Everytime he thought of Marco, his heart clenched tightly. It was too much; Jean was drowning._

Shooting up off the ground, Jean awoke from his nightmare only to be greeted by bad breath and a long tongue licking his sleep-deprived face. ‘ _Hey guys, look, another one of daddy’s boys.’_ Jean grimaced, still not fully away. “Daddy’s boys? How the hell do you know my dad?” But he only realized after he had spoken that Jean realized he was sitting face-to-face with a horse. A black one. With sparkly wings. He must have been high.

“Woah, is that Jean?” A familiar voice brought him out of his slight stupor as he looked up past the horse. “Look, it’s Jean! And he’s found his people!” Jean groaned at the old joke and stood up shakily, brushing hay from his pants. He grimaced when he realized he was still in his pajamas. “Jean’s one of us too? How cool!” He looked up to the smiling face of Sasha who greeted him cheerily. Another voice picked up from behind her, ogling the new guest. Jean stopped to take in his senses. It seemed like there was a huge black sky above them and walls that reminded him of a cave. He seemed to have fell into the stables as he shakily stepped over the railings that held the black winged horses into a corral. And apparently they talked too. Weird. This was one strange dream.

Sasha was dragging him over to a campfire...and the flames were oddly blue. There were a group of kids just like him huddled around the fire. The other voice which he didn;t recognize caught his attention. She looked a little like Sasha, but she seemed older, wilder, and more eccentric. As his mind began to process slowly, he did a double take back to the circle of kids sitting on charred logs and recognized each and every one of them. Connie, Bertholdt, Reiner, Mikasa, Historia, Ymir, Armin, Eren, and his heart faltered when he saw Marco’s big brown eyes staring up at him wide-eyed. Jean looked away; he didn’t want to think about Marco right now. Besides, it looked like they had bigger problems at the moment. “What is this place?”

That’s when the lady with the glasses stepped in front of him with a mischievous grin that made her seem a little dangerous. “What a beautiful question! And I have a beautiful answer!” She grinned. “I have no idea!” The other groaned at her answer, looking glum as usual. “Aw, don’t be like that! It’s not like we don’t know anything.” She smiled and stood in the ring of people and beckoned for Jean to join her with the rest of the teens. “All of us...including grumpy Levi who will be back shortly, are demigods.” Jean _knew_ she was crazy. But the rest of his classmates didn’t seemed shocked by this news.

“D-demigods? What the hell? I’m human, ya know!” Jean protested, believing that this in fact was a dream and none of this was real. The lady grabbed his wrist to prevent him from leaving and she shot him a glare. “Who even are you and why are my friends here?” She grinned and let go of him.

“Well why didn’t ya ask sooner? My name is Hanji, and my father is Thoth, the Egyptian god of…” She paused, making a grandiose gesture with her arms as she gleefully shouted, “SCIENCE!” Jean deadpanned; was she for real? “Now I may be a hard case to believe since my old man didn’t give me anything special except for a knack with chemicals and the like, but we’ve got some interesting cases over here.” She said, gesturing to the group. Jean wouldn’t believe it until he saw it; he’d known these guys since grade school; surely he would have known if his closest classmates were children of mythical gods by now.

Reiner stood up with a grin and Eren cringed, hands in front of his face. “No, no! No Reiner! I maybe be able to heal but having my head cut off and grow back is _not_ a pleasant thing!” Jean stared almost incredulously as Reiner pulled a blade from his boot and approached the brunette; Mikasa looked pissed but didn’t move. Then Reiner grabbed his arm and cut a deep gash in the flesh there. Eren hissed, trying to wipe the blood away. The blonde sat back down and grinned, putting his blade back in his boot.

“May I introduce you to Eren Jaeger, son of Apollo!” Hanji cheered, pointing to Eren’s arm which was...back to normal. No wound. _How the hell did that happen?_ “Now I know what you’re thinking!” Jean groaned. “ _How could that mean that Eren is a demigod?_ Wow, Jean, funny you should ask that!” Something told Jean that sitting alone in a room with this woman was equal to hell. Eren stood up, turned around so his back was facing Jean and liftedthe backs of his hairs so his neck was visible. It looked like a small scar, but it glowed this golden, orange color in the shape of a sun. “Every demigod has one! It justs takes time for them to appear so some of us don’t have any. You don’t seem to have one yet but since you’re here, you are one of us. And sometimes the marks are strange to where we don’t know what god is their parents.” She pointed to Mikasa; he always admired how beautiful she was with her creamy perfect skin, perfect red tinted lips, and her luscious long hair. “It took me a month to decipher her godly parent! Probably the only one of us here who’s ancestry is Chinese.”

Now there was a question that had been nagging at the back of Jean’s mind. The place they were in...where were they? The ground was just dry brownish black dirt, and the walls and ceiling reminded him of a cave, though the area was about the size of a stadium. There was a small corral of black winged houses, a campfire with logs surrounding it, and what seemed to be a wooden cabin. It was cold despite the fact that he couldn’t see where there was an exit. Jean didn’t even know how he got there. He felt eyes on him and his gaze went over to Marco who was staring sadly at him; it looked like he wanted to cry. Then the memory of that night came rushing back to him...Marco had been terrified, saying it was something about him that he couldn’t drag into...was it the fact that he was a demigod? Did Marco find out? The poor guy must have been so confused and terrified. And for once, Jean felt relieved. This meant they could get back together, right?

“Um.” Jean spoke up, looking at the bespectacled lady. “Where uh, exactly _is_ here?” Hanji turned around and adjusted her glasses; for the overly excited expression she always wore, she looked strangely glum at the poised question.

“I don’t know exactly where, but I can tell you this.” She looked right into Jean’s eyes. “This is the underworld.” Jean blinked once. Twice. “Hades has trapped us here, for good or bad, I don’t know yet. But we’re stuck here unless somehow, we find a way out.”

 


	3. And Then I Lost the Love of My Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marco makes a visit to see daddy dearest via the River Styx Express.

_“Marco, honey! Can you get the door?” His mother’s voice called out to the freckled male and he responded by trotting down the stairs and past the kitchen to open the front door. A tall man stood there in an all-black suit and dark hair; honestly, Marco would have thought the man was a celebrity but there were no bodyguards; just a lone black sedan in the driveway. Puzzled, he looked up quizzically at the man with the dark eyes that seemed to stare right into his soul; Marco was mesmerized that he didn’t notice the man walk past him and into the kitchen where his mom was. The sound of a ceramic plate hitting the linoleum floor brought him out of his daze as he raced to the kitchen to where his mother was. “Hayden!” She cried out in surprise and she was not hurt; he had thought the man was a burglar. The man was tall, he realized; if he stood on his tiptoes, his head could probably hit the ceiling. As compared to his five-foot mother, the man was too tall._

_His mother stared at the man, a sparkle of home and regret in her eyes as she had a silent conversation with him before turning to her son. “Marco, sweety.” She only used that nickname when something was wrong; the sixteen year-old tensed up. He was prepared for the worst. “This...this man,” She hesitated, standing by his side; she wore a strange smile on her face that he didn’t recognize. “Marco, this is your father.” With wide eyes and a mouth slightly agape; Marco stared up at the man who was said to be his father; his mother never mentioned him once, only that he couldn’t live with them. Sure, he had been curious, but he was doing just fine without him._

_His father was tall, dark, and handsome; it was no surprise how he wooed his mother. He actually looked kind of scary at first glance, like a mafia boss or something. But Marco could sense a kindness there, almost like a father figure. “You’ve grown so much…” A cold and pale hand reached to ruffle the boy’s hair but all he could feel was warmth...the same as his mother. He felt like he could trust this man. “Elena.” He turned to the woman, grasping onto one her hands gently. “Do you remember what I told you when we first met?” Her chocolatey warm eyes widened in shock before softening as she nodded once. The man turned to Marco again, and the coldness was still there. But Marco wasn’t scared._

_Marco glanced between them; something was wrong. “My brother is...upset.” She seemed to understand what the man was trying to imply. “I want to protect Marco...and the others. It’s not something I can do here…” His words were vague but she knew what it meant now. “I need to tell him who I really am.”_ Who he really is? Is he not my father? _Marco’s father smiled and pet his brown hair again. “Let me show you my home.” Her mother waved for a brief as he whisked her son away towards the other side of the room.Why were they walking behind towards the back of the door? But as he thought his nose was going to hit the corner between the wall and the door, they were suddenly somewhere different...much different._

_“Where are we?” Marco asked, confused as to why the walls were now made of a dark rock and blue-flamed torches lit a pathway. His father did not respond for a while. There were voices, subtle at first, but they gradually grew louder and tempted him to stop moving, but his father kept him going until they came across a much larger room. It looked like a throne room but everything was dark and black; nothing like you see in movies or picture books. There were bones everywhere. His eyes glanced up curiously at his father who had somehow miraculously changed from a sleek suit to a dark cloak of sorts. It was colder in here than in the air-conditioned house. But not a cold that the weather could control._

_His father sat upon the throne and motioned for Marco to step closer; he was so confused. It all happened so fast...a strange man showing up at his door, claiming to be his father, and dragging him to this...this place that was way too big to be a space between the wall and door of his kitchen, and now his so-called father was sitting upon a throne and beckoning him forward; his feet were frozen for only a moment as he stood in front of the tall man. “This may come as a shock to you…” His father’s voice was booming...powerful. “I hadn’t intended for you to be born.”_ Well that was kind of harsh; my father didn’t even want me? _“Ah.” He seemed to have realized what he said. “I knew that if your mother gave birth to you, a grave curse would be placed on you…” That seemed less harsh. “I did not want to give my child any more grief than possible but, Elena was insistent.” His father smiled at the mention of his mother. Despite never being around for most of Marco’s life, he seemed to really cherish his mother._

_Marco still didn’t understand his father’s words though it seemed like he was trying to explain. “Um, I don’t get it. What curse? What is this place?” All of the questions came out at once. “Who are you really? Why didn’t you ever say hi? Why do you need me now? Are you broke? Is that why you’re living in this dump? Mom barely has enough to pay for the house...I don’t have anything to give to you...even if you’re my father.” The man seemed a little perturbed and amused at his son’s reactions. He even let out a hearty laugh._

_“I agree, my son. This place_ is _a dump, though not much I can do about it.” The man smiled but it looked like he was about to say something that would change his life...forever. “That’s a lot of questions young man, and I appreciate your curiosity. I suppose there is one question that you want answered above the rest.” Marco watched in awe as a crown of bones materialized out of nothing on top of his father’s head. Marco felt a small weight on top of his head and his hands went up and found that he too was wearing a crown of bones just like his father. “I am Hades, King of the Underworld. And you, Marco, my son, are my prince.”_

Waking with a start, Marco shot up from his cot and looked around; everyone in the room was sleeping. It was big enough to hold three sets of bunk beds and a small closet. Underneath him was Armin sleeping lightly. Eren on the other side of the bed was snoring loudly, but not as loud as Jean beneath him. Reiner was surprisingly quiet underneath Bertholdt, who was even quieter. The underworld did strange things to them apparently as the tall pair were not Greek but offspring of Norse gods. He looked over to Jean’s bunk and sat on the edge. At one point they had dated, and Marco still loved Jean. And ever since he had discovered that his father was _the_ Hades, he knew he couldn’t drag a human into his curse. His father didn’t yet explain to him what his curse was, but with the new information, he now knew. His hand traced lightly over his sleeping face, enjoying the smooth feel against his skin. He wanted to kiss him, but in order for him to save Jean, he did not and walked out of the room.

Outside Hanji was waiting for him as if she predicted his plans. “Marco.” Her tone was serious, her normally happy and exuberant mood gone. “I don’t like this...I don’t approve of what you’re about to do.” But she knew that perhaps this was the only way. Just after Jean arrived into the underworld, Levi came back after examining the place and found something that everyone had to see. In the back of the cave-like prison, the son of Ares found a river. And it wasn’t just any river, no, it was the River Styx. It was a river that transported souls from the living world to the afterlife, and their only escape route.

 _“I don’t think Hades wanted to trap us here to kill us; he could have done so already.” Levi surmised. “And I don’t think he’s toying with us. No, there’s something bigger here...something that we demigods couldn’t understand unless we were told. Now what’s strange is why_ you’re _here Hanji. Your old man is an Egyptian god. And those two big-ass trees over there are sons of Odin and Baldr. And last I checked, the Norse and Greek were doing just fine. And Ackerman...her pops is Chinese. If Hades went through all of the trouble of taking all of these different demigods and putting us here, it must be something greater. It has to be linked to those storms on the news. They started in Greece, right?” Levi paused. “The River Styx...it is our only way out, but that means we all die. No one can survive a dip in this shitty water; I’m not even sure it_ is _water. No one...but maybe an offspring of Hades.”_

Stepping closer to Hanji, the freckled male had already made his choice. “Levi said it himself; this is our only way out. And unless Jean is my half-brother, I’m the only son of Hades here. My dad put me here for a reason.” He clenched his fists a little bit, trying to gain courage to step up to her. “If anyone else went in, they’d go straight to the depths of Tartarus. But if I somehow don’t survive, either way, I’ll go straight to my father.” The crown of bones materialized on his head again, showing the power that he did inherit from his godly father. Hanji was shocked for a moment before letting out a sigh of defeat.

“I hate to do this, but you are our only hope.” Hanji rested a hand on his shoulder. “May Thoth watch over you and grant you safe travels.” She smiled; he smiled back. Though they had only met for a day (or maybe two...time didn’t seem to matter in the underworld), Marco knew that Jean was safe in her capable hands. He glanced at Levi who was standing a little far off. He nodded to the shorter male and he led Marco to the River Styx. It took them ten minutes to reach there before Marco would hear the voices of the souls travelling down. Levi looked back, his grey eyes watching the freckled boy’s reactions. They had been traveling in silence all this time, but he was the first to speak up.

“You can hear them.” Marco looked surprised only for a moment before nodding; he could hear them very clearly. _No, I don’t want to die! Somebody save me! Ah...so this is it. Where’s my child? It’s dark, I can’t see anything! I’m freezing! My head hurts...save me!_ Marco tuned them out, trying to focus on his task. “You’ve got it bad.” Levi flipped a coin; it landed in his hand on his heads. “I remember when I first started to feel the power from my father coursing through my veins. It was like an adrenaline rush...only I thirsted for fighting. I got into a gang, overthrew their leader, and killed anyone who stepped in my path.” Marco cringed; he didn’t know

Levi was a criminal but...there was something in the older man’s eyes that showed wisdom. He didn’t seem deadly; Marco would have smelled a killing intent by now. “I eventually turned to the army; being a gang leader wasn’t my style.” Levi sighed, reaching for his pocket subconsciously and cursing when the object in question was not there. “I served for two years until I met Hanji; she knew who I was and helped me out of my killing craze. And Erwin Smith too.”

That was the first time that Marco had heard the name...no, wait...it wasn’t. Marco vaguely recalled it being on the news with the weather reports. _Just yesterday, a freak accident occurred when a young military leader was assassinated in China on purely diplomatic travel. It seemed the assassin was found and sought to not be associated with the Chinese government. Colonel Erwin Smith was only 29 at the time of his death._ Were they linked? Smith was a very common American name...it could have easily been anyone else. But somehow, lately, there seemed to be a lot of coincidences. “Do you still have it?” The son of Ares turned at the question, his grey eyes intimidating. Marco swore he saw flames within the pupils. “I-I mean...your k-killing passion...your...c-craze. Do you still y-yearn to fight?” Levi turned back around, scatching the back of his neck as the pressed onwards.

“Yes.” Levi sighed again, swinging his arms back and forth. “It comes and goes...that’s what Erwin was for. Only he could survive if I scratched him a couple times. But Hanji taught me to control it. Along with those nasty herba; stuff she makes me take.” Marco sighed in relief; it wouldn’t be a lie to admit that he was a little afraid of Levi...okay maybe more than a little. But in all honesty, Levi seemed like a good person. _A good person with a curse._ It reminded Marco of himself. He had a feeling that the curse his father mentioned was relating to this. Something bad was going to happen to him...but Marco already prepared. He still loved Jean, very much so. But he’d much rather die than to bring Jean down this road too. “We’re here.”

Before he had realized it, his toes were on the edge of the dirt where the river began. It was small, probably a stream that connected to a larger river. He stared at it for a long time; the voices were calling out to him, coaxing him to share their pain and misery. “Are you ready for this, kid?” Levi asked, looking a little solemn as if he was about to send a kid to their death. And in reality, he was. Nobody knew what would happen if Marco stepped into the River Styx. But it was better than sitting around in the cave doing nothing.

“Yes.” Marco took a deep breath of air. “I’m ready.” He didn’t feel the need to strip down; one last breath before he took a step into the River Styx. He heard a voice...distant. It sounded like his name. But it didn’t matter anymore; the spirits had taken Marco along the River Styx, leaving nothing behind. Marco was gone.

 


	4. And Then Two Became One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marco returns, and has bad and good news. The bad news destroys Jean.

When Jean awoke, he knew something was wrong; there was just something off about the way the air felt around him. Rubbing his sleepy eyes, he realized he was the only one still in bed. Not caring about his bed head, he rushed outside to find everyone else. They were all eating (where they got the food, he didn’t know) around the campfire like before. It didn’t feel like morning...or anything really. Jean wasn’t sure how to compute for the lack of clocks and a sense of time. Maybe it was evening back in his mother’s house or bright morning, but he had no clue in this place. “There’s bean stew for you. Hades was nice enough to leave us some canned beans for our stay here.” Jean nodded to the voice which belonged to the son of Ares; he forgot his name already. He sat down and grabbed an already waiting bowl and filled it to the brim with the strangely delicious looking stew.

As he took a bite, he looked around at the various teenage demigods around him. Something was off...and he couldn’t quite see it yet. Eren was sitting next to him, staring into his empty bowl with a sharp look in his eyes as if he was trying to bore a hole into the bowl with sheer willpower. Jean blinked, about to ask him why he looked so intense when his eyes shot back to the rest of the people sitting in the circle; there was one familiar face missing. “Marco…” Jean spoke his name carefully...tentatively as if he would pop up from somewhere and show himself like he usually did. “Where’s Marco?” As soon as the question was posed, everyone looked away. Hanji looked down at the grown and Levi clenched his fists. “Hey...won’t you tell me where he is?” Jean was desperate now, looking for answers that he already knew.

“Marco...went to go talk to his old man to try and get us out.” Jean stared; as far as they knew the only way out was through the River Styx which essentially was suicide. “I don’t know if he’s dead...I was hoping his bloodline would keep him safe but...I don’t know.” That was the problem with this entire situation; nobody knew anything. One day the earth opened up and swallowed a bunch of demigods into a cave with no way out but death. They were all sitting on their thumbs, waiting patiently for either starvation to kick in or a holy light from above to open so they could all get out, but nothing was happening. They were stuck here with no agenda; no plan. Jean cursed and threw his bowl on the ground and stormed back to his room.

Jean was sure of it now with the recent turn of events, but Marco must have broken up with him because he met his father who happened to be the King of the Underworld and feared that something might happen to his best friend and lover. And now that Jean found out that supposedly his dad was a god or whatever, he thought that maybe he could get back with Marco and things would go back to normal again. But with Marco on a suicide mission, Jean was left with conflicted emotions that he just couldn’t deal with right now. And who of all people would walk into the room other than Eren freaking Jaeger. “Go away, asshole.” Paused in the doorway, Eren frowned.

“Wow, hello to you too, horse face.” He padded over to the opposite bunk from Jean and  crinkled his nose. “And here I was trying to cheer you up or somethin’.” He mumbled but they fell on deaf ears. For a while they just sat there in silence; Jean’s brain was whirling a mile a minute, praying that Marco would somehow walk in the door with a cheery smile on his face like nothing was wrong. Eren just didn’t know what to say; he ran a bunch of scenarios in his head on how to cheer the guy up and everything ended in Jean insulting him somehow. He didn’t really hate the horseface; he was just annoying. And the same could be said about Eren; Jean didn’t hate him...just thought he was an ass sometimes. With a sigh, Eren stood up and stretched, taking deep breaths as if mentally preparing himself.

Jean’s eyes opened as he watched dumbfoundedly at the idiot who decided to do stretched and breathing exercises when he was having a mental breakdown because Marco was gone. “Hey.” He called out to the brunette, brows furrowed. “What the hell are ya doin’?” Eren glared right back at him before catching himself and sighing. Slowly, Eren creeped closer to Jean, making sure the horse face wouldn’t punch him until he was sitting right next to the other male and their outer thighs were touching. Jean was...confused to say the least but didn’t make any moves to hit him or anything. They remained in silence again, both not knowing how to strike up a conversation because whenever they spoke it was always negative and insults about their mothers (and they both _really_ loved their mothers).

Eren spoke up first. “I know what it’s like to lose someone.” Jean didn’t move; only listened. “My mom had twins; I was one of them. I didn’t know about it until later but...he died when I was three years old. We were in separate parts of the country; he was with my dad and I stayed at home. And one day, out of nowhere, I just start bawling, like really loud baby crying.” Eren clutched at his chest. “Even at three years old I knew that someone in my life was missing, like a piece of my heart was just ripped out without a warning. And my mother got the call soon after about how my baby brother didn’t make it.” The brunette sighed, eyes almost glassy as he opened up his thoughts to the other male. “Every now and then I get this pain in my chest and I know it’s my brother because I just feel so stupidly empty inside.” He turned to face Jean this time who met him with unreadable eyes. “You’re feeling that too, aren’t ya?”

Not trusting his voice, Jean nodded slowly. It was the same, like someone had grabbed a piece of his heart, waved it in front of his face tauntingly, then threw it in a fire so it could burn into nothingness. Yeah, Jean felt that way completely. “Marco broke up with me out of the blue; I was honestly thinking about proposin’ to him or something. I’m thinking it was because of him...bein’ a demigod.” Jean still wasn’t sure if he truly believed gods existed or not. “And now, being here, I finally had a chance to reconnect and he goes on a suicide mission without a word.” His hands clenched into fists and he really wanted to break something. “I don’t know what to do…”

Eren would have been the last person that Jean would have thought he’d break down in front of. But right then and there, he just lost it. He held his head in his hands and started sobbing like he too was a three year old baby mourning the loss of his most precious person. His back shook from the sobs and Jean was completely vulnerable. Eren knew what it was like...though it happened when he was three, it was the most vivid memory he had. His arm wrapped around Jean’s shoulders, holding him still while Jean let everything out. He’d never seen Jean look so weak before; Jean always boasted about his sexual prowess (poor Marco) and his strength and skills on the water polo team, but never in his life did he think that proud as hell Jean freaking Kirschstein would turn into putty in his arms and break down.

It was the form of a new, unspoken bond of trust they developed. They told each other their most emotional secrets and let their guards down completely. Hearing Jean cry made him think of his own twin and he too sobbed silently into Jean’s shoulder. It helped become free again as if the tears were cleansing his soul. Jean must have felt that way too because his sobs died down and he leaned into the brunette’s touch. It was kind of nice to be in each other’s arms (though neither of them would admit it because they were still rivals) and feel the warmth that kind of soothed their pain a little so they kind of collapsed on the bed and ended up passing out cradling each other like they were two children again, seeking each other’s company like siblings would, yet nobody spoke of it the next day and shot glares at everyone who gave them funny looks. For a while, they avoided each other like the plague.

When the boys were in their cabins, Eren and Armin in a bunk, Jean and Levi in another, and Bertholdt and Reiner in the last one, the door opened and appeared a figure they thought they would never see again. Marco stood in the doorway, fidgeting a bit as he didn’t make eye contact with anyone immediately. It was Jean who shot up from bed and went right in front of the freckled male and hugged him as tight as possible. Everyone was glad to see that Marco had returned, except Eren who stayed in his bunk. Eren felt a sharp pang in his chest like usual and he sank further into the mattress. Jean was crying, drooling, and mumbling to Marco all at the same time who just sheepishly patted his back. “It’s good to see you too, Jean.”

Levi narrowed his eyes a bit at the return of the demigod and wasted no time in getting down to business. “Well, freckles? How was your trip down to see your old man?” Flinching at the sound of Levi’s voice, Marco fidgeted more before sighing and sitting down in a nearby chair. Jean had detangled his limbs from him and sat on his bunk, pouting.

“F-fath...Hades is not budging on letting us go.” Marco scratched the back of his head. “He didn’t say much, but he mentioned the son of Zeus dying...Erwin?” Marco tried to recall the conversation he had with his father. Levi flinched at the name but showed no other reaction but that. “My father isn’t a very talkative person...he keeps to himself, so I couldn’t get much out of him but…” Marco’s eyes turned serious as his gaze darkened. “On my way back, I kind of got lost and somehow met another demigod. He said his name was Mike.” Levi flinched again, but this time he stood up seemingly happy. “Mike is going to get you all out of here.” Reiner and Eren cheered at the sound of their good fortune, but Jean was still confused.

Jean stared at Marco, studying his body language; if anyone knew Marco, it was Jean. He knew every little thing about him and it was why he was the first to notice something was wrong. “Marco.” The freckled male flinched. “You said ‘you all’...don’t you mean ‘us’?” Marco’s cheeks reddened as if he had been caught and he tried to laugh it off. “I know you Marco, and you wouldn’t make a mistake like that…” Marco wouldn’t answer him and Jean couldn’t quite wrap his head around what he could possibly be insinuating.  Though Levi had a pretty good idea on what Marco was hiding.

He stood up and went next to Marco as if to confirm something. The freckled male was a bit intimidated by the son of Ares, and it showed. Levi’s eyes narrowed for a moment before sighing and turning to the rest of the boys in the cabin. “I’ve had my suspicions, but now I can say for sure that Bodt’s been trying to hide this whole time.” Said male looked defeated and his eyes silently pleaded for Levi to stop. “Mike is my friend, and he happens to be the son of Dionysus. Right about the time I got sucked down into this hell hole, I knew he was on vacation with his old man, something about holy wine tasting or something. So I know for a fact that Mike’s not down here. I had my doubts ever since Freckles stepped into the river...like I could see his life force being sucked away with each second.” Jean’s eyes went wide. “We knew Marco could at least go see his pops, but Hades wouldn’t let his son just waltz back up to the surface. But there’s only one type of person who could do that.” Marco slunked back in his chair, looking grim as his empty eyes stared down at the floor. “Marco is dead; what you’re seeing here...is his spirit. Marco’s already moved on.”

 

_“I hadn’t intended for you to be born.”_

 

_“I did not want to give my child any more grief than possible…”_

 

_“I knew that if your mother gave birth to you, a grave curse would be placed on you…”_

 

Marco knew that stepping into the river would end his life; he was sure of it. But he also knew he had to, because his curse was inescapable. His father, when he found out, cried silently in this throne room and couldn’t bear to tell Marco’s mother. Hades had sent him back to the camp but Mike found him first. He knew that Hades was protecting the demigods, but from what, he didn’t yet know. Mike would know. Jean was sitting on the bunk bed, avoiding looking at Marco as the reality of the situation was hitting him. Levi was sitting, thinking of their next move. Though the information they got from Marco was scarce, it was still years ahead of what they had.

 

Right now, the key to getting out was Mike; Mike had all of the answers and was going to lead them back home.

 


	5. And Then I Met a Dude in a Hawaiian Shirt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jean meets Papa Poseidon.

Banging on doors and walls, clanging pots and pans together, and yelling as loudly as she could, Hanji did her best to obnoxiously wake up everyone, even Bertholdt who could sleep through just about anything. But his chocolate eyes creaked open at the annoying sounds only to see the rest of his cabin mates putting clothes on and packing up everything. “Bertl, get up.” The husky voice from his blonde friend caused him to yawn and roll off of the top bunk. He rubbed his sleepy eyes and looked around, trying to grab his minimal things and stuffed them into a bag. He turned to Reiner, still confused as to what was going on. The blonde seemed to read his mind. “We’re getting out of here, Bertl. A pathway opened up.”

Grabbing everything, the trapped demigods made their way out of the wooden cabin and out into the open area. Nothing seemed to change in the damp, dark cave except now Hanji was pointing to a spot on the cave wall. It didn’t really look all that different until she put her hand right through the wall with the biggest grin on her face. “Look! We’ve got a way out!” She cheered, running through the wall this time and everyone stared a bit before following suit. Levi caught up to her and told the overly excited woman to calm down. “Levi aren’t you so happy right now?” He groaned slightly.

“Stupid glasses, be quiet for just one second.” He said, gritting his teeth a bit. “Didn’t you consider this could be a trap set up by Hades himself?” Hanji regarded him for a moment, her eyes still shining with excitement. “I mean, we could be walking right to our death. All I’m saying is that we should tread carefully and not go gung -ho into Tartarus or something.” Levi scratched the back of his head; he didn’t like playing devil’s advocate, but he felt like he had to in this situation. Hanji thought for a moment before replying with a smile.

“Are you telling me you can’t smell it? It’s faint, but it’s definitely there.” Her smirk was borderline insane. “Fresh vines, rich earth...and sweet, sweet wine.” Levi’s eyes widened for a moment; _wine?_ That must mean...Levi tried to focus and relax to see if he could sense the same thing...and the scent of rolling hills filled with rustic grapevines wafted through the air for just enough time for him to recognize that Dionysus had a play in their escape. Sure, Levi was still wary given that Dionysus didn't particularly like humans but it was better than nothing.

There were a lot of misconceptions about the Underworld; if humans were to dig down for a long time, they wouldn't eventually break a hole in the ceiling and fall into Hades's lap. The Underworld and Mount Olympus were on entirely different planes of existence; the only way to access these areas was to be a god or dead, the one exception being a demigod. It was the only reason Hades was able to trap this unfortunate group of demigods was because of their immortal parents; otherwise, they'd all be dead.

Hanji, being the one in the very front, was stopped by a thick, black wall that was different than the rest of the cave walls; it was the barrier preventing humans from finding the Underworld. Taking a deep breath, she stepped through the barrier and was greeted with the twinkling night sky. As the rest of the demigods came back to Earth, Hanji hollered in victory as the scent of fresh air was a luxury everyone missed. Even the stoic Levi cracked a smile and sighed in relief; but their mission was not quite over. A tall, blonde man walked over to their group; he was wearing a faded maroon shirt, rolled up light denim jeans, and he was barefoot. As soon as he approached, Levi could smell strong wine immediately. Also the fact that they had appeared in the middle on a vineyard added to the sweet scent of earth. "Mike." The shorter male said, shaking the blonde man's hand. "It's good to see you had fun on your field trip with daddy dearest." The blonde man smiled and returned the greeting by getting a good whiff of Levi (its always creeped Levi how Mike's way of greeting was sniffing, though now he was used to it; Mike was never ashamed and said it was a reflex from all of his wine trips with his godly father).

But their reunion was cut short; their were so many questions that Mike had the answer to. The rest of the previously trapped demigods huddled around Dionysus's son. Mike was a man of few words so he got straight to the point. "Hades is not your enemy." Mikasa narrowed her eyes.

"He trapped us in his backyard and left us there to die. How is he not our enemy?" Levi put a hand on her shoulder to stop her; lately she noticed that Levi had been paying more attention to her. They'd barely met and yet sometimes he acted like they knew each other; it was strange for her but surely there was a reason. He always looked like he wanted to say something but he just couldn't find the right time. And that was fine; Mikasa liked to think herself as relatively patient after all. "None of this even makes any sense."

Then, as if appearing from the leafy grape vines that surrounded them, a figure emerged into a man the same height as Mike. His hair hung down to his broad shoulders, dark loose ringlets held together by a crown of grape vines. His face was so smooth as if was chiseled out of stone; he looked like a model out of a foreign magazine. His eyes were dark brown and piercing, yet they were gentle as if looking down upon a lover. But...to offset that mood, the man was wearing a loud, vibrant hawaiian shirt and ripped denim shorts that looked like they were too tight for his muscular thighs. Despite how refreshing his face looked, his bare feet were covered in dirt and leaves nestled in a pair of cheap rubber flip flops that looked like they were going to break if he took one more step. The other demigods didn't know how to react to the man named Dionysus.

"I understand your concern, miss. But my son is correct; Hades is not your enemy." The god rest his hand upon his son's shoulder as if silently praising him. His voice was smooth like a fountain of rich chocolate and every time he opened his mouth, a hearty scent of aged wine wafted over anyone close by that wasn't extremely sickening. Both Sasha and Connie were mesmerized by the male's tone that they hardly paid any attention to the words that came out of his mouth. "Blood has been spilled and the mighty Zeus is on a rampage for revenge." Levi's eyes widened for only a moment while everyone else was shocked by the news. Out of everyone, he needed to remain calm; he shouldn't be shocked by everything he heard. "Erwin, the only demigod son of Zeus in this lifetime, has been murdered by another demigod." Levi tried his best as to not be deterred by the news but his arms and hands were shaking. "And Zeus won't stop until he's found the killer."

Jean was one of the first to speak up; he still had no idea where he belonged, no idea who his father was (and if he was even a demigod at all), and didn't give an ounce of respect to the half gorgeous and half flip-flop hiker man who apparently had an alcohol problem because he reeked of it or to any other god. "What the hell? First of all, Hades is a good guy? Zeus is trying to kill us? Why does that go against every book about Greek mythology? Why am I even involved? I literally fell into the Earth two days ago and people who I don't even know are out for my head! And apparently I'm a demigod? Bullshit! You'd think I'd know if my father was a fucking _Greek god_ of all things! Shouldn't I have some sort of power or something? Well _sorry_ but I don't belong here, so you can go tell Mr. Lightning Bolt to go _fuck himself_ and leave me the fuck _alone!_ " After panting for a few moments after shouting all of his discomfort, Jean was about to turn around and somehow get back home from wherever he was right now but there was a soft and gentle touch on his shoulder that felt lighter than a feather but held all of this familiar warmth that had Jean in a frozen state.

Marco was there, though he wasn't; Levi had told him that he had already passed on, but it still looked like his ex was well and alive. And that big goofy smile that caused his heart to do flips in his chest and make his palms all sweaty was the last thing he wanted to see right then and there. After he poured out all of his emotions and tried to remain strong, the tears were back. He wanted to be with Marco so bad, but they could never touch again. Although the hand on his shoulder was warm, it wasn't there. "Jean." He sounded like the Marco he knew, but his figure was hazy, almost like a hologram...like a ghost. "I know it may be hard to believe...trust me, I too was in your position. But Jean..." _No...don't smile like that...don't say my name._ "You're special...I can see that now...being dead and all."

Jean wished he could start all over; he would blatantly refuse Marco to break up with him; he would never leave him alone. That way, maybe, Marco wouldn't have had to sacrifice himself and they'd still be together and alive. But reality slapped him right in the face when Dionysus spoke again.

"Hades's boy is right; like it or not, you're a demigod. A quite powerful one too." Jean stared; he didn't believe the alcoholic. "You wanna meet your dad so badly? I'll take you to him." And before Jean had any say in the matter or before he could actually speak to Marco, the scenery changed and the luscious vineyards changed into a wooden dock over looking a neverending blue ocean. As soon as he registered the stranger standing in front of him, Jean's vision grew hazy and he suddenly felt sick and puked all over the man's strappy leather sandals and toes. Behind him, Dionysus's voice rang out in laughter. "Wow, I'm putting this on Instagram. Hashtag 'Father/son reunion.'" _Gods have Instagram? Did he really say "hashtag" out loud?_ Wiping the puke from his mouth with the back of his hand, Jean realized he had puked all over a stranger's bare feet and his cheeks grew red in embarrassment.

Before Jean could mumble nonsensical sounds and embarrass himself further, the stranger laughed. The stranger wore a blue hawaiian shirt (what was with gods and hawaiian shirts?) and khakis. His eyes were blue like the ocean and his hair two-toned just like Jean's. There were little wrinkles around the man's eyes and a light beard across his chin and jaw. His laughter was different from Dionysus; it was light, like a bell, and warm and familiar. Jean had heard this voice before. With a single sweep of his hand, the stranger urged some of the water from the ocean over his feet, clearing any evidence of vomit like it was no big deal.                                

"What a surprise! I never expected to see you so soon." Jean could only shakily stand on his feet in front of this man and stare with wide eyes. "Don't worry about throwing up on me; you did plenty of that as a baby." Jean couldn't believe his ears. "Dio, please, you know that dimensional transfers are weak on a human body. But, I thank you for bringing my son here. I've been meaning to visit, but circumstances have changed." That bright smile faded into a more stern look as if he was brooding. He stared at Jean a bit, almost as if reading his mind about all he had gone through. "Wait...you don't know who I am, do you?"

Dionysus scoffed, sprawled on a lounge chair and now suddenly sporting dark sunglasses with a wine glass in his hand. "The kid never knew about you; probably thought you were dead or just a deadbeat." The wine god laughed at his own joke. "You really never once visited him? You deserve the 'Father of the Year' award." Jean's gaze flickered between the gods, still unsure of what was even happening. "You know, last weekend, my boy and I went to Italy for a little wine tasting." The blue-eyed god looked sheepish, scratching the back of his neck.

Curling his hands into fists, Jean stood between them. His face was twisted into anger and confusion, his eyes slightly watery because he couldn't hand all of this. "I'm sick of this! Being dragged around like a rag doll and not being told anything..." Jean grit his teeth together. "W-who..." Jean turned to the stranger. "Who are you?" Though he had a vague idea, he still wanted to hear a straight answer.

The man smiled again and Jean was filled with this gentle warmth that spread throughout his body and the scent of the ocean filled his nostrils. "Ah, I guess introducing myself is a must." He took a deep breath and cleared his throat; the waves of the ocean behind him stopped as if they were trying to listen to the god's words. "My name is Poseidon." There was a golden aura around him that reacted to his name being spoken. "And I'm your father, Jean. I'm really glad I got to see you again."

 


	6. And Then He Saved My Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More JeanEren consoling.

"Let me go over the plan." Mike was standing in a large seating area that was a part of the ranch home located in the middle of the vineyard; he wasn't much of a talker; Levi and Hanji knew that much. And for him to speak so much like this, they both know that this was a serious matter. "We're splitting into two groups: Team Nanaba and Team Annie." The blonde man sighed. "Team Nanaba is to find the daughter of Zeus so she can convince her father to stop killing demigods. Team Annie is our last resort, but we need to find the daughter of Vali and...have Zeus kill her." There was a few dead seconds of silence; Levi, Hanji, and Mike were probably the only ones who had killed someone before, but they were worried about the other teens. But they had no other choice or Zeus would kill them too.

After a bit of preparation with weapons and food, the demigods began to split. The Norse demigods, Reiner and Bertholdt were with Team Nanaba along with Levi and Mikasa while most of the Greek demigods save for the daughter of Odin were on Team Annie with Eren and Hanji. Mikasa didn't like being separated from Eren so the pair of siblings sat alone in the seating room while everyone else prepared for the long journey. "Eren." Her voice was a little shaky because she probably wouldn't see her adopted brother for a long time. "Stay close to the glasses woman." Eren didn't respond. "She can keep you safe...I think. And Armin will be with you too." Mikasa waited for a reaction and all she got was a light nod. "Something's on your mind...if you're worried about me, don't be. I can ha--"

"No...it's not that." It was rare for Eren to act so serious so Mikasa was nervous that something was wrong with him. "I'm worried about Jean." Now Mikasa was really scared; she had always thought he hated Jean. And now all of a sudden he was worried about the horse face? "He was dragged so suddenly into this...being held captive by Hades, not knowing what he is and suddenly going to meet his father for the first time in a matter for a couple days...I mean, his ex-boyfriend just died right in front of him! Jean's a bit of an asshole but...he loved Marco." Resting his elbows on his knees and crossing his fingers under his mouth, Eren's face lacked the usual brightness and held something else...pity and guilt. "My old man has visited me a lot...even though he's a lazy asshole and way too fucking cheery all of the damn time...still, I knew who I was; who I am. Never once did I doubt that I was the son of Apollo."

Mikasa rested a hand on his shoulder and Eren sighed. "I feel partly responsible too. With my power, I always knew Jean was one of us; the color of his soul was the same of us." Eren bit his lip. "Day after day I knew from the start who Jean was. I just kept quiet because I thought he knew and didn't want to talk about it...or maybe he didn't know, but who says 'Oh hey, did you know you're a demigod? I know because I can literally peer into your soul because my dad happens to be the fucking sun god.' Who would believe me?" Eren's arms and legs were now shaking. "If I just maybe stopped being an ass and...maybe we could have been friends sooner...and maybe he and Marco would still be together. Maybe...just maybe I could have..." He didn't say anymore as his hands covered his face and his body shook due to the silent tears sliding down the brunette's cheek.

A few moments later, Dionysus and Jean returned and appeared in the seating area with the god's dimensional transfer. Jean did not puke that time; instead, he looked like he had seen a ghost. Eren looked up, quickly wiping his tears away as he saw a very broken Jean. In just that short amount of time, he looked pale. Eren wanted to say something, but something prevented his voice from being heard. He was afraid of breaking Jean any further. Levi walked in soon after, pulling Mikasa away so that the teams could go their separate way. "Kirstein, stay with Eren. We're beginning the operation." The son of Ares said, giving one last pitiful look at Jean before disappearing with Mikasa. Hanji, as cheerful as ever despite their situation, latched onto both Eren and Jean and dragged them off with the other team members. Jean didn't know what was going on, nor did he care.

Hanji insisted that they use public transportation as their method of travel; but the vineyard that Mike and Dionysus brought them too was in the midwest with not another house in sight. It would probably take a day or two to reach the nearest city (Hanji tried explaining her powers and how she was able to see things but it didn't really make sense because she rambled and got off topic). Finding an abandoned barn, the group prepared for sleep; Hanji said that they wouldn't be getting much sleep and to enjoy it while they could.

Jean couldn't sleep. Nestled in the far corner of the barn on top of a pile of hay, he brought his knees into his chest and stared blankly at the dirt ground. His mind was still trying to process that the god of the ocean was his father. Jean didn't hate him...if his mom had been miserable because of it then yeah he'd probably be pissed at Poseidon but he didn't. Instead he felt immensely sad; why had his father never visited? Jean would have even appreciated a phone call. Growing up, Jean thought his father was dead and it didn't really bother him until he found out that his father was _alive_ and _a god._ It would have been nice to receive an instruction manual on how to be a demigod and what his powers were. All that he discovered was that he could talk to horses. _Add that to my list of things to thank my old man for_ (the list is nonexistent).

Rustling near him brought the demigod out of his thoughts as someone crawled over and sat next him, mirroring Jean’s position. He couldn’t see who it was in the dark but he had a feeling he knew exactly who was sitting next to him. “Couldn’t sleep either?” Jean mumbled lazily, still staring at his knees.

“No.” Eren whispered, careful not to wake the others. Their shoulders were pressed up against each other and it was too cold to be picky about touching each other. Besides...both of them liked to think that maybe they were on a path of tolerating each other. “How are you? I mean...how was your father?” There was a pause of silence. “I’ve always been curious about the other gods...Mike’s dad is really close with him and they go out drinking every other weekend. Mikasa’s dad never shows his face and only leaves ads of boxing matches and the sort on the kitchen table for her.” Eren yawned. “My dad visits a couple times a month...and I don’t think I’ve ever seen him without a smile.” Jean didn’t say anything. “You don’t have to talk...it’s fine. I understand…” _and I’m sorry. I’m sorry for knowing all about your secret and being too afraid to tell you. I’m sorry that you’re suddenly being dragged through hell and back and seeing your dad for the first time and watching the love of your life die right in front your eyes._

Jean knew that Eren was trying to console him. However he was baffled as to _why_ Eren would go that far for him. Sure, they had a nice long conversation yesterday but...something was off about Eren and he was too damn depressed and too damn tired to care. With a heavy sigh, Jean rested the side of his head on Eren’s shoulder. “Does your dad wear hawaiian shirts too?” Eren perked up a little, chuckled, and nodded in agreement. “That’s so lame.” Jean laughed too but his voice died down and soon the only sound were crickets and bugs outside, still awake and energetic at such a late hour. “He’s...so normal. Poseidon is just a normal guy who likes fishing and has a weird obsession with hawaiian shirts. There’s nothing special about him...you know, I expected him to be all godly and all mighty-like. I mean, for a moment I could sense this godly aura about him but he was so _normal that I don’t know how to react._ ” Saying that in all one breath made him pant a little, head still resting on the brunette's shoulder. "What's your dad like?"

Eren leaned into the other, enjoying the warmth for the time being. "My old man's the god of the sun; Apollo. Just imagine a male underwear model, then throw on a hawaiian shirt and terrible dad jokes and you'll get my dad." There was a bit of silence before Jean laughed at the image in his head. "He's always smiling and sometimes it's infuriating but...even though he doesn't visit too often...I think he's a good man...err, god, whatever." The brunette huffed, closing his eyes.

"So our dads are just normal...except they live on Mount Olympus." Jean was expecting the gods to be this overwhelming and intangible presence that could freeze a human upon mere eye contact; he expected them to be giants filled with wisdom, knowledge, and infinite powers, not lame old men who drank wine all day and enjoyed fishing as a hobby. His emotions were all mixed up; ever since he was told that he was a demigod, Jean had planned out exactly how he was going to meet his father. He was going to pretend like he didn't care and punch him before sharing coffee together and sitting in silence. Jean was going to tell him that he didn't need a father in his life and grew up just fine without one. He was going to go on about his life not caring that he met his father who was never around.

_Your mother was fiery and sharp; I don't always visit the world of the living, but during one of my trips down I immediately became infatuated with her. But...she turned me down almost every time. She was independent and didn't need to rely on anyone to put her someplace in the world. But then after all of my pestering she gave in and I took her out to dinner by the seaside. Then she started saying yes a little more and then we were in love. Despite what you may think of me, I love both you and your mother. I stayed around for most of your baby years but...the world of the living and the world of the gods are so different. Time flows differently...if I don't tend to my duties, then the Earth is thrown into chaos. You may not understand it completely, but every storm, hurricane, tsunami, or anything that has to do with the sea...it's all my doing. That big earthquake in San Francisco? I knew the plates over there were shifting but I neglected it because...well, that's when you were conceived. Wait, no, don't make that face! If I could stay with you and your mother, I would. And I'm sorry for not saying anything...I didn't think you'd need a postcard from a man you've never met. I wish circumstances were different and I'm sorry we had to meet in such a way. And...that boy...Hades's son. He was a good boy; I'm sorry that this all happened. But no matter what, if you ever need me...just say my name. I love you, Jean. I'm so proud of you._

How could he get mad at someone like that? How could he hate someone who felt like the sun and smelled like home? It hurt him to know that there was someone out there who cared for him just as his mother had and Jean wanted to ignore them. Jean couldn't ignore his father anymore. He just wished he could have met him sooner. And then suddenly there was a wetness on his cheeks and a sting in his eyes that he didn't recognize until a gentle arm rested on his back in a soothing manner. Eren's shoulder was probably stained with his tears but the brunette didn't say anything, silently accepting all of Jean's troubles and fears. Jean was alone, but he had a friend he could trust by his side. Eren understood his pain...his sorrow. Eren was someone he needed right now...a shoulder to lean on. Right now, Jean trusted Eren wholeheartedly and moved to hide his face in the crook of the brunette's neck. They remained like that for the remainder of the night, snoring soundly and grasping onto each other comfortably both physically and mentally.

This was a start of the bond between the Son of Apollo and the Son of Poseidon.

 


	7. And Then They Became Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A note for any readers who are confused.  
> Jean - Son of Posiedon  
> Eren - Son of Apollo
> 
> Annie - Daughter of Vali  
> Armin - Son of Athena  
> Bertholdt - Son of Baldr  
> Connie - Son of Hermes  
> Erwin - Son of Zeus  
> Hanji - Daughter of Thoth  
> Historia - Daughter of Aphrodite  
> Levi - Son of Ares  
> Marco - Son of Hades  
> Mikasa - Daughter of Zhong Kui (vanquisher of evil)  
> Nanaba - Daughter of Zeus; half-sister to Erwin  
> Reiner - Son of Thor  
> Sasha - Daughter of Demeter  
> Ymir - Daughter of Odin

The bonfire crackled and little bits of flames surged up towards to the sky, seeking something but finding nothing. While the rest of their team had gone to bed, Levi and Mikasa were still awake. The fire was the only sound between them, dark gazes not willing to meet each other out of fear. Levi wanted to speak his mind but couldn't and Mikasa wanted to tell him to hurry up and spit out whatever he was trying to say but was too shy to do so. After a moment, sucking up his courage, levi let out a heavy sigh and moved to sit next to the young woman. She tensed and stared at him but his gaze was on the fire in front of him yet his eyes seemed to be looking at something else. "I've been watching over you for a while now." Mikasa grimaced.

"Were you the one in that black tinted car?" She took the silence as an affirmative and scoffed. "I always thought it was some pervert. I tried going after you but Eren stopped me..." Her eyes widened. "Did he know?" Another second of silence made her seem wary that maybe he might do something she didn't want. "I am not into you nor do I find you attractive you creepy, short basta--"

A groan from the shorter male interrupted her. Levi sat up properly and looked at Mikasa. She was still tense. "It's not like that...I..." He fumbled for the right words, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. "I...haven't properly introduced myself. I'm a son of Ares...my name is Levi...Ackerman." The dark-haired woman's eyes widened in disbelief and shock, her body frozen from the new information gracing her ears. "I know we only just met in Hades's dollhouse...and I didn't intend to meet you like that. I didn't anticipate this happening mainly because my asshole of a father is probably getting a kick out of a bunch of demigods being slaughtered by Big Ol' Zeus. But..." Levi paused again and Mikasa hadn't moved, slowly soaking in the demigod's words. "Your mother...and mine...were sisters." Mikasa gasped. "Like it or not, we're cousins. And...I knew of your existence a while ago. Who knew there was another close relative of mine who also happened to bear the burden of having immortal blood flowing through our veins? I wanted to at least show face...but I was nervous about your reaction to all of this..." He finally noticed she wasn't moving. "Oi, Mikasa, are you alright?"

Hearing her name, she snapped out of her train of thought and now looked vulnerable and nervous. "U-um..." She struggled to speak, cheeks flushed with embarrassment and limbs slightly shivering as he tried to touch her to calm her down. "I t-think I s-should go..." She managed to say, avoiding Levi's touch and struggling to stay upright as she headed for her tent. Levi groaned. _What a great first impression,_ he thought to himself.

The next day she avoided him completely, only needing to talk to him if absolutely necessary. Levi didn't know if he should respect her wishes for distance or try to apologize. Him and Eren had met a while back at a coffee shop in the city. With just a glance, Eren could see Levi's aura and how similar it was to Mikasa's. And ever since they had been keeping in touch via emails and texts. Levi wished he was here right now because he didn't know how to handle Mikasa. And now that he had told her the truth about their blood relationship, he felt that now she was even more vulnerable and harder to approach than before. But for today he decided to leave her be. And it proved fruitful because the next day she went to her tent and sat on his cot while he was up reading a book late at night.

Mikasa still looked embarrassed like she did two days ago but Levi knew she was a strong woman; she wasn't going to let something as frivolous as meeting an unknown family member put her down. Just as Levi was about to speak, Mikasa beat him to it. "I'm sorry...for acting like a child." Her voice wavered slightly but she remained calm. "I didn't know how to respond to you...I didn't think I could suddenly start becoming chummy with you."

"You don't have to act like that; I just want to tell you that...you can come to me if you need me. And I um..." Levi's hand cupped over his mouth, no meeting her heavy gaze. "I care about you...since we're family." Growing up with barely any memory of his mother and father, Levi wasn't quite sure how to treat Mikasa. He grew up on the streets before Erwin and Mike found him and told him about his lineage. There was no such thing as family before the two blondes came into his life. And Levi wanted that door to open to Mikasa as well. She seemed a little nervous as well with Eren being the only family she could recall. But now there was another bridge forming between them; and it wasn't quite stable yet, but it's still there. Mikasa felt a little bit more comfortable around him and felt like he could trust him more so than she did before. "You should go back to your tent; we're leaving first thing in the morning." Mikasa hesitated for a moment before agreeing with the shorter male and bidding him goodnight.

Early morning the next day, Levi woke each of his team members up to prepare for their long journey. "We're going to Sweden. Don't bring a lot of luggage with you; it's probably hard enough as it is for Bertholdt to carry us all there." Despite how cold it was at the break of dawn, Bertholdt, the son of Baldr, was sweating enough to shower in it. Reiner was trying to calm him down, but the Norse demigod was nervous, especially since Levi's beady eyes were staring him down and expecting nothing but perfection. "You can handle it, can't you, Bertl?" He flinched at Levi's voice.

"U-um..." His anxiety was starting to kick in and his cheeks heated up like a tomato. "I've never...carried so many p-people before...and I...might not get to...the p-place we want..." So many bad scenarios played in his head and his hands were shaking.

"As long as we end up in Europe, we're fine. Now let's go, tall and sweaty. Just don't get any of that filth on me." Levi was trying to reassure the brunette but it ended up failing as bertholdt nearly collapsed. But Reiner was there, holding him up and resting his chin on the taller male's shoulder. He whispered something, probably in some form of old Scandinavian. Technically, Reiner and Bertholdt were cousins, but everyone in their group had an inkling of suspicion that their relationship a little more than friends suggested.

After a moment, Bertholdt's nerves were almost gone and he sat down on the ground in a humble position. The rest of Team Annie circled around him as he began to chant in Old Norse. A ring of light surrounded them, glowing and shimmering each time Bertholdt spoke during the ritual. Just as they were about to jump to Europe at the speed of light, Ymir's voice rang out in laughter and echoed as their group vanished and was transported to another country. She had been standing next to the pair and also happened to be the daughter of Odin. She knew exactly what Reiner had whispered in Bertholdt's ear.

"Those two are _disgusting!"_

 


	8. And Then I Got a Lap Dance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iris is curvy, smooth, and flawless. Eren is jealous.

Sitting in an old train station, huddled together from the lack of warmth in the morning, Team Nanaba remained quiet despite the usual enthusiasm that echoed from the small group of people. Some were asleep and some couldn't sleep because of the cold. Their train was delayed for a few hours and all they could do was wait. Connie was the first to complain. "Ya know, I could already _be_ in Lake Tahoe. Or we could have taken a plane. They're much faster. Or a bus. A car. Anything beats sitting here in the freezing cold. We're in _Detroit_ in the middle of _winter._ _Snow._ I think my snot is frozen." No one really had a good reply for him; Sasha huddled closer, wondering if her body heat could help calm him down. He didn't speak much after that.

Jean was leaning against the wall, Eren's head resting on the other male's shoulder while Armin was sitting in Eren's lap. Eren and Armin were asleep, snoring lightly while Jean was wide awake. And he _wanted_ to be asleep. But his mind was whirling like crazy. And he wasn't even that cold; on the contrary, he was fuming. And Jean hated himself for it; every time he glanced down at Eren, he could see Armin's hands clutching lightly onto the brunette's shirt and his head resting comfortably against Eren. And for some strange reason, Jean found himself _angry_ at Armin. He couldn't fathom of why there was a heat pooling low in his chest that surged to break free. He wanted to push Armin out of his best friend's lap and have Eren all to himself. Why? Jean didn't have a clue. There was no way he was jealous of Armin. At least, Jean didn't think he was jealous. What did that even mean? Jean hated himself for hating Armin in that moment; the blonde did nothing wrong, but...Jean just couldn't bear the sight.

But he couldn't fume for much longer because there was a gentle glow from the doorway into the somewhat dilapidated station. It was reminiscent of a rainbow, all of the colors in the visible spectrum glowing faintly as a curvy woman entered the building. Her chest was covered in a flowy fabric, not covering much. Around her arms and legs were thin strips of silk and her feet were covered in delicate ivy. Her hips were wide, swaying as she sauntered over to the group with such grace that Jean was mesmerized. Her breasts bounced lightly as she strode over to the group, eyes lighting up when she saw Jean. Poseidon's son was too busy staring at her curves to realize she was looking over at him and stopped right in front of him. "Hello, Jean." Connie stared wide-eyed as the somewhat scantily dressed woman sat upon Jean's lap, straddling his hips as she cupped his face.

Meanwhile, Jean was frozen. A beautiful woman whose large breasts were pushed right under his chin and his hands had somehow made their way to her smooth hips, fingers dipping lightly into her skin. Her eyes were bright, shimmering, and changed color every time he blinked. Her long, black hair was braided all the way down to her waist, flowers peeking out through the strands as if they grew from her hair. "You're...super pretty..." Those were the only words that he could come up with and was immediately embarrassed by them 0.2 seconds later.

"Why thank you, Jean." She smiled and kissed his cheek, leaving a bright red lip stain there. "My name is Iris; I am the messenger of the gods." She lets her slender fingers caress his cheek, looking down at him with an expression that Jean couldn't tell was a mother looking upon their child or a woman looking down at her lover. Either way, Jean was relatively pleased. As if he knew what to do, his hands roamed up and down her waist, leaning back as to allow her to sit more comfortable on his lap. She giggled when she felt his erection poke her lightly through her jeans. "I came to give you a gift." Iris smiled and kissed the male's forehead. Connie was trying to wake Sasha up so she could see the unbelievable sight that was happening right in front of them.

Between her breasts, a faint glow shimmered in the darkness of the early morning. Jean stared for a moment before he leaned forward, pressing his lips to her cleavage and retrieving the item between his teeth. Iris smiled, giggling as his tongue gently swept against her skin and took the jewel from Jean's mouth. "This jewel I created will allow you to think of anyone in the world and contact them. Just hold it tight between your palms and against your chest and think of someone. You will be able to see them and talk to them for a short while." She smiled as he stared dumbly at her. "I owe your father one...but who knew that Poseidon's son was so adorable and cute."

Iris then kissed him once upon the lips, her lipstick turning his own lips red. And just like that, she stood up and floated out of the building and disappearing. It was silent for a few moments; Jean still felt like he was in a trance, staring at nothing as the jewel glimmered in his hand. Connie and Sasha couldn't believe what they saw was the truth. Just then, Hanji burst into the train station with two grocery bags full of snacks. The son of Hermes shot up and raced over to Hanji, gesturing silently and screaming "Jean" all at once. She stared at the animated demigod and looked at everyone in her group. Eren and Armin were asleep, Jean had red kiss marks all over his face and Sasha had joined Connie in trying to explain what had happened with wild movements. But as soon as Connie said the rainbow goddess's name, Hanji's eyes lit up in excitement.

"Iris! The beautiful messenger of the gods! Oh, she came!" Hanji went over to Jean who was still somewhat in a trance. "She _did!"_ Rustling in her pockets, she brought out a very tiny vial, opened it, and held it under Jean's nose. A few seconds later, he jumped up, eyes wide open and coughing. "Oh Jean, Iris visited you! Amazing! You are very lucky Jean! Not very many people get to be graced by the presence of Iris...and she mainly takes a liking to handsome men...though why Jean, I don't know."

Jean's vision was slightly hazy and his head ached for some reason. Hanji was yelling in front of him and Eren and Armin were awake now. He wiped his lips, blinking as his hand came back red. Jean vaguely remembered a woman coming to see them. "She was pretty...and I..." his eyes went wide as he touched his own lip. "She _kissed_ me." Jean stared at Hanji whose focus was back on him again. "I-iris kissed me! _Me! Jean Kirstein!_ Kissed by a pretty lady!" Hanji chuckled.

"Ah, yes. Those who are visited by the goddess are given a rare gift as well as a chance to woo her. When you look at the rainbow, are you mesmerized by it's beauty? Do you find yourself staring a little bit too long than you intended?" Hanji pushed up her glasses. "That's the magic of Iris! Those who she visits are in a trance and can't refuse her. You'll find yourself doing things you didn't know you could do and you find yourself enraptured by her beauty. But when she leaves, the memory of most humans is fuzzy and they don't remember much but...I guess Jean was able to remember a little bit of their encounter." Eren scoffed; his arms were crossed over his chest and he looked...rather angry. But Jean was too engulfed in bliss to notice. However, Armin did. As Jean showed Hanji the glowing jewel he received from Iris, the blonde pulled his best friend away from the group to talk to him.

Eren was staring at Jean, fire in his eyes. Even Armin noticed that his skin was warmer than usual. "Eren." No response. "Eren!" The brunette turned to his friend, looking peeved but a little bit more calm as his eyes were taken off of Jean. "What's wrong? You looked like you wanted to kill Jean..." Armin stared at his friend longer who looked like he was trying to sneak glances back at the others. No, Eren didn't want to kill Jean...Armin tried a different approach. "Why are you angry?" It took a moment for Jean to collect his thoughts.

"What's so special about Iris, anyway? She wasn't even that pretty...she was all over Jean... and his hands...and his mouth..." Eren cursed under his breath and Armin was analyzing the behavior of his best friend.

"You were awake?" Eren jumped, realizing that he had been caught. He slowly nodded. "You were jealous of him? No...that's not right..." Armin's eyes widened. "No, you were jealous of _her._ " Eren's face turned red as his arms remained crossed over his chest and he refused to meet Armin's eyes. "Eren...do you like Jean?" The brunette didn't move.

"NO!" Eren paused, biting his lip and tapping his foot. "Maybe...not really...I don't know!" His hands moved to his head, pain forming in his temples. "I don't know, Armin! Sometimes I look at him and I want to punch him in the face....but sometimes I feel like punching him and kissing him after." He turned to Armin, his green eyes shining just a little. "I don't know Armin...I think I do..." Eren paused again and took a deep breath.

"Yea...I like Jean. A lot."

 


	9. And Then He Kissed Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren was never good with words anyway.

“This is...not good.” Up in the snowy mountains of Sweden, Team Annie had trekked up to find Erwin’s killer only to have a major flaw in their plan. "We need to let Team Nanaba know we failed in securing Annie Leonhardt." He stepped away from the group, wondering if there was any service up in the mountains where they were at. During their journey up the mountain, Levi had been dealing with conflicting emotions. ERwin had been the first person in his life that showed compassion to him. If not for Erwin, he might already be dead. And after hearing the news that one of his closest friends had been murdered, of course Levi grew livid. Any chance he could be alone, he'd try punch anything; trees, rocks, wild animals...anything that could temporarily relieve him of the boiling anger inside of him. But looking at Annie now, he didn't know what to feel.

Bertholdt had been sickly because he had transferred so many people with his powers and could barely walk. But now, he was emotionally broken; him and Reiner knew they were cousins and lived close by, but they had never met Annie though she was part of the family as well. But seeing the mangled and frozen body of a blood relative was strangely emotional for the pair. Unknown tears streamed down Bertholdt's eyes as he gazed upon the corpse of Annie Leonhardt. He didn't know what came over him, but an intense wave of grief shrouded his body as his shoulders shook with despair. Reiner could feel it too, but he didn't show it as much as Bertholdt. It was Ymir who turned to the Greek demigods to try and explain.

"I don't know if it's the same with you Greeks, but when you see something like this, the blood inside of us reacts in a way that causes us great grief. Right now, it's taking a lot of my strength to not be moved by seeing Annie dead." Ymir frowned and pet Historia's head as she too looked about to cry. "What're ya crying for blondie? She's not your family." The blonde didn't say any more and opted for hiding in the brunette's long coat to keep warm. Levi cursed; what were they supposed to do now to bargain with Zeus? "Hey, old man." Levi whipped around from his thoughts as he turned to the freckled female. "Someone else got here before us; if it was Zeus, don't ya think he would have fried her to bits? I don't think he'd mangle her limbs like a human knot."

Bertholdt had managed to stand up with the support of Reiner; his eyes were puffy and red from crying and Reiner looked like he too had shed a tear. "I know who killed her." That certainly caught Levi's attention and his eyebrow quirked in curiosity at the solemn brunette's bold statement. "I noticed it when I first felt like crying when I saw her dead body. Her body...it was done by a savage; a savage killer." Reiner nodded in agreement; he too agreed with Bertholdt's conclusion. "She was killed by Vali." Ymir was not surprised; neither was Levi. Historia, however, gasped and trembled. It was then that she realized how mortal they all were. Though their parents were gods, immortal and powerful beings that dwelled outside the human realm, they were not. Their human blood tethered them to death, and Historia felt that fear for the first time; any second, some god could strike down her existence, even her own mother, Aphrodite. She clung to Ymir, fingers trembling but not from the cold. Levi felt completely useless then; he only had to hope now that Team Nanaba had made progress.

And when Team Nanaba reached Lake Tahoe, it was Mike who was the first to burst open the heavy wooden door of the dark log cabin facing the lake. He had joined them as soon as the group of demigods reached the city and was frantic about meeting her. And when he found her sitting by the fire, enjoying a cup of tea in her silk bed clothing, Mike made a small sound of joy. She was startled by the loud sound and befuddled as to why Mike was on the verge of tears. Collapsing onto the couch, the tall man took Nanaba into his arms and cradled her close to his chest, sighing in relief at her sweet scent. He kissed her, chaste at first before his lips sucked along her neck and a cough from the doorway interrupted the lovers' reunion.

Nanaba was embarrassed that her intimate greeting with her lover had an audience. Seeing Hanji, she smiled and bounded over to the woman and embraced her. "Hanji! I haven't seen you in years!" She blushed from happiness but as she saw the other guests whom she felt a godly presence, Nanaba grew worried. "Something happened...you wouldn't be here with these other demigods otherwise."

As Jean stared at the woman, he felt like he knew her from somewhere; there was some sort of familial relationship that he felt for her but he couldn't quite explain it. She was very pretty, and very taken, he presumed. Nanaba almost reminded him of his mother. Eren spoke up and approached her like he knew her. "We're in trouble, sis." _Sister?_ Jean thought Mikasa was his only family; and they weren't even related. "The old ma--" Eren caught himself. "Erwin was killed." It took a few moments for the statement to reach her; Nanaba at first didn't believe them. Erwin was her brother; they were both children of the mighty god Zeus. They were strong; much stronger than anyone else in the world. And to hear that he died before her was unthinkable. She glanced among the new faces in her home and they all reminded her of the reality that she wanted to escape from.

The tears were slow at first, hesitant as Nanaba tried to keep her emotions in check. But memories flooded her vision of her warm and comforting older brother and she couldn't imagine a world without him. And now one of her closest friends was giving her unwanted grief and Nanaba didn’t know how to cope. Mike was there to catch her as she fell back, fainting from the sudden news. He too felt like crying because Erwin was like a brother to him. But he wanted to remain strong for Nanaba, and so he did. She awoke hours later, eyes red and tired; Mike greeted her with a small smile and even Hanji was unusually calm and quiet. Slowly she sat up, a blanket over her shoulders. Nanaba felt miserable; her only family gone forever. “I’m...sorry I fainted. It’s unlike me to do that…”

“No, you’re fine. Honestly, I expected more tears from you.” Her light chuckle made Nanaba laugh as well, her voice light as a bell. “But we need to talk…” Hanji sat down in front of her, adjusting her glasses; Mike was holding his lover close to console her as much as possible. “We need to talk to your father...well, we need _you_ to talk to him.” Hanji paused, a hand resting on her friend’s shoulder. “Your father is...a bit angry. And we need you to calm him down.” Nanaba thought about the words her friend spoke; she hadn’t seen her father in a long time. Did he even care about her anymore? She felt hesitant about speaking to her father. “Many demigods are already dead.” Hanji added, a grave look in her eyes. “I saw a boy lose the love of his life in front of my eyes. I don’t want to see that again.”

Sitting on the lounge chairs outside, Jean and Eren were alone and strangely quiet. Jean knew Eren wanted to say something but the latter didn’t know how to say it; and Jean was not a patient man. “Spit it out, Jaeger.” Jean spat, half-glaring at the brunette next to him. Eren met his gaze just as dark.

“I get it, Horse face!” Eren shouted back, grimacing for just a moment before sighing and shifting back in his chair. He was nervous; very nervous. It wasn’t until recently that Armin discovered where Eren’s emotions lay. He liked _Jean._ Jean Kirstein of all people. All throughout high school, Eren hated the guy’s guts. He was just so damn annoying and self-righteous all the time that he wanted to land a good one right on that ugly mug of his. But now Eren’s mind wandered elsewhere; he was starting to fantasize about kissing him, pushing his body against Jean’s and feeling his hard-on grind against the other like he couldn’t control his animalistic urges. Freshman year was when Eren discovered that he was bi, and made out with Armin behind a Taco Bell in the parking lot. His lust for Armin only lasted a few days, and it was the same for the blonde. They had different tastes,and it wasn’t for each other.

And after dreaming about what i would be like to have Jean’s cock in his mouth, Eren knew what his type was; he was interested in his equal. He wanted someone to meet his own strength and fiery passion; he didn’t want there to be a dominant or a submissive; Eren wanted to be _both._ And with Jean, he could have that...as long as Jean reciprocated the feelings that Eren was hiding deep inside of him. “Fuck man, I don’t even know what to say. I thought I hated you; I really did. You were such an ass.” Jean made a small sound of annoyance but opted for not arguing with Eren just this once. “But after seeing you lose Marco like that, I just couldn’t hate you. It’s...not hate I feel for you.”

Jean shifted in his seat, solemn eyes glancing over at Eren before their gazes met. And for the first time, Jean saw a vulnerability in Eren that he had never seen before. As far as he knew, Eren was one of the toughest guys he knew. But right in this moment, Eren’s face was flushed and his fingers were shaking and his eyes looked _scared._ What in the world could scare Eren freaking Jaeger? “Enough beating around the bush, Eren.” The brunette fidgeted in his seat, unsure of his next move. And right before Jean could say anymore, Eren stood up. He carefully made his way to stand in front of Jean, eyes shifty and unable to meet Jean’s gaze. _Here goes nothing._

Eren sure as hell expected a fist to the face when he crawled on Jean’s lap and kissed him timidly in front of their view of the lake. He expected to be pushed away and yelled at for playing around and acting like a fool. He expected Jean to never trust him again and wipe his lips as if he kissed a frog. But he sure as hell didn’t expect Jean to fucking _whimper_ at the soft brush of their lips and Eren’s clammy hands resting atop Jean’s bare shoulders, fingers softly enjoying the warmth of his skin. He didn’t expect Jean’s tongue to come sweeping across his own, tasting each other and shivering in relief at how good it felt.

And when they pulled away, breaths heavy, eyes glazed over with an emotion they would have never shown to each other if circumstances were different. Eren was breathless and Jean was speaking slowly. “Woah...this isn’t…” He spoke between pants. “This isn’t...pity...is it?” Eren’s eyes went wide and he violently shook his head.

“No, you fucking horse brain. I’ve been thinking about kissing you for _days._ I’ve been having dreams about sucking you off and having your tongue in my ass! This isn’t fucking _pity_ you moron.” And then Eren turned bright red, and Jean mirrored him. “No...I lied...I never dreamed about you.” He coughed, embarrassed.

“Do you wanna?” Jean asked, nervous and embarrassed as well but serious with his words. “Suck me off...I mean. And want me to rim your...ass…” Jean had only gotten to handjobs with Marco; he knew what the next steps were but he was too nervous to screw things up with the freckled boy. The love they shared was different than the feeling that was growing in his groin and poking up at Eren as he sat on his lap. Eren grimaced and stood up quickly.

“Hell no!” He panicked. “I mean...not now.” Jean frowned, visibly disappointed. “We’re in somebody else’s house! Oh, and did you forget that Zeus is trying to _kill_ us?” Eren panted, looking out at the water and away from Jean. How could he spill his fantasies to Jean like that? Eren was ashamed of himself. “But...when this is all over...you can eat my ass any day.”

 


	10. And Then One Became Two Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jean and Eren are stupid and like making out.

“Can’t we do _something?_ ” Connie whined, rubbing his hands together nervously. Team Annie had made their way back to Lake Tahoe to meet up with the rest of the demigods who had been previously captured by Hades. With Annie dead, Nanaba was their only hope to surviving Zeus’s tirade. She had summoned his presence and quickly responded to their surprise. As she talked with him in Mount Olympus, all the rest of the demigods could wait. Mike was the most nervous out of all of them; he feared Zeus had not calmed down enough and would react badly to her too. Hours passed and Mike wanted to do something; anything. He was physically pulling hairs out from his head and smashing thing; nothing Hanji said could calm him down unless he saw Nanaba safe and alive. It was then that a figure appeared before them, forming from the vines against the trellis of the log cabin facing the shimmering lake.

Dionysus stood there with a small smile upon his face. He turned to his son who looked absolutely terribly as he hoped for his lover’s safe arrival. “Zeus...has returned to normal.” A sigh of unanimous relief washed over them. “Vali had felt insulted by Erwin’s presence in his shrine. He was visiting to buy a gift for his sister but was encaptured by his rage. Vali summoned his only child and ordered her to destroy him. And...when Annie proved unuseful, he killed her. Erwin’s death then placed a grave curse upon Zeus who only sought out vengeance.” Though it was happy news for the demigods sitting on the lakeside, Dionysus spoke with grave sorrow. “Right now, they are honoring Erwin Smith at his funeral.” He fidgeted slightly. “I was instructed to.bring a few guests.” Though he didn’t specify any names, they already knew who he meant. Mike, Hanji, and Levi stood forward and allowed the god of wine to take them to Mount Olympus.

Sasha took Connie’s hand and smiled. “We’re alright now.” She reassured the nervous male. “Do you want to go home now? We’re quite far but...we’ll get there soon, I hope.” Connie nodded eagerly before bidding their goodbyes to everyone else before leaving the cabin. Reiner and Bertholdt left next; they wanted to travel back to Sweden and give Annie a proper burial. Though her actions were not right in their minds, they still wanted to respect their blood. Ymir did not care for that, however, and took Historia to the lake and have some time together. Mikasa and Armin wished to stay with Eren but could feel a tension between the two and left them alone before they all headed home. Now that they were alone, Jean grabbed Eren’s hand and took him back inside to where they were only hours before. There was an empty room that seemed comfortable enough and he laid on his side on the bed.

Jean only had a couple hours to think, and his mind had been in a lot of places. He had to cope with a Greek god trying to kill him out of vengeance. He had to understand that he made out with Eren just recently and he had to decide on whether or not he could move on from Marco. Jean knew there was some sort of affection he held for Eren, and it all started when the brunette had comforted when the love of his life died before he could even blink. Marco wasn’t there; Jean was. And a part of Jean still loved Marco, deep down. Eren knew that would be the case and wasn’t expecting a miracle. But maybe, just maybe Jean would like him back.

“Eren.” Jean had calmed down now and Eren was seated on the bed perpendicular to Jean’s lounging body. “I...think I trust you more than I did before. I definitely don’t hate you.” Eren scoffed. “I’m being serious! Back in Hades’s cave...when I lost Marco...I was alone. I felt like my life held no value and I was just drifting through nothingness and all I could feel in my bones was grief. I felt _miserable_ , Eren. And the person I least expected to care was right by my side and giving me warmth when I needed it the most. I didn’t realize it then, but you _saved_ me, Eren. You of all people saved my poor little existence from spiraling down into complete defeat. And I cannot…” Jean paused, a lump in his throat. Eren reached his hand over and grasped Jean’s own lightly. “I cannot tell you...how much I _appreciate_ you...I understand now how much I need you in my life.”

Eren smiled and laid on his back, holding Jean’s hand over his heart and closing his eyes. He lay there, listening to the sound of Jean’s voice and feeling his hand gently caress his chest through the thin fabric of his shirt. “I don’t know...how long it will take for me to...get over Marco. He’s still fresh in my mind...and I really wanted to be with him until I grew old and died, so I cannot guarantee anything.” Jean heaved a sigh and closed his eyes, half-burying his face into the soft pillow. “But...if ya still want to stick with an ass like me...I want to see just how much you can heal me, Mr. Son of Apollo.”

It was Eren’s turn to laugh, his voice light and refreshed after hearing Jean’s comforting words. It was not a complete confession; Eren knew that much. It was a gamble for their future. And if the past had anything to say about how these two would turn out, gambling suited their personalities perfectly. Jean didn’t quite know if he loved Eren yet. The brunette was already assured of his feelings when Jean’s fingers laced with his own and his heart thumped at the small gesture. How he got from “I tolerate you” to “I dream about us having sex” so fast, Eren had no idea. “Now that I laid my heart out on the table, wanna make out?” Jean suggested with a small wink. Eren groaned.

“Mikasa is downstairs. Can’t we wait until we get home?” Jean frowned, disappointed. “I was joking! This situation we were in was all fucked up. I still don’t even know what happened to us in the past month. But...I definitely do want to suck your face.” Jean groaned.

“Can’t you be more...poetic? You sound like a caveman.” Jean started laughing wildly, picturing Eren in a leopard print toga. “Me want kiss! Me want sex! Har har har!” He teased, and Eren laughed right back until he was straddling the son of Poseidon.

“Stop teasing me; I’m not Romeo.” Eren smiled, and it was the bright kind of smile that reminded him of the sun and made him think how ironic it was that Eren’s father dragged the sun across the sky in a flaming chariot. He could not stop laughing until Eren leaned down to silence him, pressing his lips against Jean’s more firmly this time and threaded his hands through two-toned hair. For the first time in a long time, Jean felt happy.

A figure shimmered in the air, light and gentle but undetected to the giggling pair on the bed. It smiled, gently, feeling relief and disappearing as if had never been there in the first place.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if the ending seemed rushed; the ending I had originally planned out didn't work out so this was plan B. Please leave a comment and tell me what you think!

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed!


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